A Taste of the World

Wonderful variety of food, well executed and great atmosphere. If you are in the area, worth a try. Have the big big appetizer sampler and banana fritters!

Very nice little place with a LOT to offer. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to eating there again soon

*Update* I’ve been back several times both for take out and to eat in. The food is just fantastic! The service is excellent and I’ll continue to go back… Most likely tomorrow! This is the best little Gem I’ve found in Herndon. I highly recommend you stop by and try! This is by far one of my favorite restaurants.
A friend who has been going here for years took me and I wasn’t disappointed. I got the fresh rolls and Beef Bulgogi (3 star spicy) and the serving size was impressive. The flavor of the bulgogi was outstanding… So much so I kept eating even though I was feeling full. The staff was super friendly and attentive. The décor isn’t anything special, but I don’t see a reason for that to take away from the charm of this place. I’ll definitely be going back soon.

Pad Thai did not disappoint. Great place, friendly staff, quick courteous service. Clean. Had the tortilla soup and house salad to start very authentic.

Lots of variety, food was great!
Only one other group was here on the Thursday nights night we visited. As mentioned, they have Indian, Mex, Thai, and some other things in between

AMAZING. The food… at first I thought «how can you make ALL of these countries food and still taste authentic…» they can!!! Our hotel told us about the place and we were not disappointed… even left our cell there by mistake and the owner came back the next day on holiday and opened for us– BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!
I would highly recommend the food– Indian and Vietnamese was my FAV and the service… it just doesn’t get any better.

Taste of the World is one of our favorite restaurants. The service is wonderful and the homemade food is amazing. We get to try cuisine from all over the world… whatever we feel like on any particular visit. Good for lunch or dinner. Lovely restaurant. Wonderful variety! The lemongrass soup is my favorite.

I’m surprised that this place is able to house so many different cuisines under one roof — Thai, Indian, Mexican, Filipino, amongst others — and still be in business for years. At one point, it received a few awards and got on some «best restaurant» lists, but my experience this weekend left me feeling indifferent.
How to get here: it is hard to find the place because Google Maps gives incorrect directions (not the first time GMaps has been wrong, but that’s for another discussion forum). My tip for you is to take the turn to the LEFT of the Hyatt House if you’re facing the front of the building. Go straight down, and you’ll see a strip of businesses to your right where this restaurant is located. There is a ton of parking.
On a Saturday evening, this place was empty. There wasn’t a single soul to be found! It was kind of sad to see it so barren despite the bright décor and atmosphere. Anyway, three of us were seated and spent some time with the menu. It took a while to decide what we wanted because we got so confused! The level of diversity made it hard to choose. We ended up getting a pastry appetizer, aush (tomato soup), lumpia (vegetarian), and chicken pad thai. The portions were good. My favorite was the aush and the lumpia. The lumpia had so much black pepper; it was a great flavor. The pad thai, unfortunately, was unauthentic; it had more of a tomato flavor than tamarind/​peanuts. I don’t recommend getting it at all. I didn’t see a non-​alcoholic drink menu here, but maybe I missed it.
I’m not sure if I’m up for trying the Indian food here (it makes me a tad wary), but I may come back for Mexican. Our waiter was alright, but he didn’t fill up our waters at all. Also, the restaurant was a tad warm as if there was no air flow. During our time there, no one else came in for a seated meal, but there were a few takeout orders.
Bottom line: the food here can be hit or miss. Takeout orders are more popular than eating in.

I would have given this place 4 stars but it’s very overpriced for what you get…
After having a dosa for the first time in NY, and an incredible one at that, I was REALLY in the mood for another one. It’s harder to find southern Indian dishes in NOVA. With the help of Unilocal,I found out that this restaurant offered them and wasn’t too far from home.
Due to my busy work schedule I called to place a pick up order. I ordered the Mysore Masala Dosa extra spicy. The flavor was good but had way too many onions. Half of the inside was onions. UGH! Fortunately I was able to pick out a majority and enjoy my dish.
I also wanted something sweet so I ordered the gulab jamun. I paid $ 5 for 2 small gulab jamun balls. I couldn’t believe it! They were good but not so good that they were worth $ 5 for such a small amount.
I ended up spending nearly $ 20 on a dosa (that would have cost $ 7-​$ 8 somewhere else) and the tasty but extremely overpriced gulab jamun.
As much as I liked the flavor and food it’s not worth the money. If they lowered their prices I would come back. They most likely will not so I highly doubt I will ever eat here again.
Don’t dine here unless you enjoy not getting your money’s worth.

A Taste of the World is one of those mom and pop restaurants that can take you by surprise (pleasantly!). It is actually one of my favorite places to go for Filipino food in NoVA. They offer a very nice pancit and some of the best Lumpia Shanghai (fried lumpia) that I have had in the US. I also enjoy the chicken in peanut sauce very much. You can get any gradient of spiciness that your wish, all the way up to Thai spicy which can set your hair on fire. They also offer some Indian, Korean and even Mexican specialties that are quite good. The downside is that it is difficult to find, being located all the way in the back of a small industrial park. It is, however, worth looking for.

I hate this place and I won’t go back. Their Korean dishes are too expensive and replace Kochujang with sriracha. They have too many different dishes, mixed with Mexican dish as well. The food portion was served in a small app plate so I thought it isn’t worth the $ 15 that I spent on lunch and I had to go to subway to fulfill my appetite. If you are in a mood for a specific ethnic dish, don’t go here for that.

This has been one of my go-​to favorite restaurants for almost a decade. It is consistently a good experience. Like another reviewer said you will not be blown away by the food. But you will never be disappointed either. They make an incredible variety of food from so many different countries and it ALL tastes authentic and good! If you want a place that has something for everyone and if you are in a group that can’t make up their mind if they want chinese, or thai, or mexican or middle eastern then this is the place. Every time I go I say, if this place ever closes I will cry.

Not a bad place, a WIDE variety from Indian, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern cuisines, and a big selection of beers and wine as well as alcohol to choose from.
Appetizers were quite a few from the menu, and our server went over our specials. We had seven in our party, and he had all of our orders right even with entrees, appetizers, and different drinks.
The location is not too good, it took us about 15 minutes extra just to find it, from four different navigation systems. It is in what appears to be an old business area that now has restaurants galore, some industrial shops, as well as a mish mash of businesses in the area. I highly recommend for the food and price, but watch out if you are driving in navigating to the restaurant.

Was a decent meal with good flavors. The hard thing about offering so many different cuisines is that it is difficult to make any one of them excellent. However, this place stays fairly true to the traditional flavors of each cuisine but blends them a little too often. For instance, my hot and soup had chicken in it which was fairly odd.

Sometimes, you just need something that is, in fact, ‘A-​OK.’ Maybe you’re new to a cuisine, maybe you’re dining with a group of varying tastes and dietary preferences, maybe you just want something simple with a semblance of exoticism, or maybe you want to discover a hidden and local diamond (or CZ) in the rough. If you nodded your head while reading any of those ‘maybes,’ then you should definitely give A Taste of the World a try!
While you won’t be «blown away» by their Indian dishes or the bibimbap, for example, you will receive warm, friendly service in a small, intimate dining room, and select from a menu that offers quite a wide spectrum of global cuisine, specializing in Southeast Asian and Indian offerings.
One of the main draws for me in coming and returning to this restaurant is that there are a wide variety of options for both carnivores as well as vegetarians, so my friends and I are well-​served here. What’s more is that there’s a lunch special where you can choose from a large selection of entrees, and receive a cup of soup and an egg roll, all for $ 10.95. At dinner time, a Unilocal check-​in garners you a free hummus appetizer with the purchase of at least two entrees.
As I mentioned, ATOTW is truly hidden in a Herndon office park, but their signage is very clear, and once you turn onto Sunset Park Dr. from Elden St., you just head straight back, and the restaurant is after the stop sign and on your right. There’s plenty of parking. The interior is surprisingly nice and cozy and clean, which is a nice touch given the odd office park location. Nice warm paint colors on the walls, and globally-​inspired décor.
Multi-​page menu with global (mostly Asian and Indian) offerings, many vegetarian items, and the occasional Mexican or Latin American offering. Please don’t come here expecting your mom’s or grandma’s super-​duper crème-​de-​la-​crème authentic dish. What you will receive is a well-​crafted dish that definitely tastes «good enough» and by that I mean it will be presented nicely, taste very good, be plenty of food, won’t break the bank, and is crafted in such as way as to serve as a great introduction to someone who has never had SE Asian or Indian food yet, and isn’t quite ready for the «full monty.»
Or, if you’re indecisive like I tend to be, you can order small plates/​appetizers and have your very own «taste of the world,» complete with samosas, tom kha soup, dumplings, tamales, etc.

I really wanted to like this place. Love the concept but the food was mediocre. I’m guessing it was just an off day, but they were crowded and under staffed. To say the least it took a while to get service. I ordered the lamb pasanda, and it was dry. Tasted a lot like liver. It didn’t seem fresh at all and I’m guessing it wasn’t. I got sick later that night.

This was an okay attempt at asian food. Its not your authentic filipino or korean food… lacking details and flavors in the dishes that are obvious to those who have had these meals before.
I ordered the lumpia shanghai and it was just like rolled up ground beef in a lumpia wrapper, thats it! Where was the vegetables… Also they make long rolls of lumpia and just cut them into pieces to make the small lumpia rolls…
I also ordered the the bulgolgi… nothing close to what I have had at authentic korean restaurants… it was disappointing
My husband and I will not be coming here again.

I’m kinda ambivalent about this place, which is why it’s taken me so long to write this review. I will blame it on the fact that Jodi C. and I were in a hurry (going to see a show around the corner at NextStop Theater).
When we arrived, the place was pretty empty and we were seated right away. The menu is extensive since it has dishes from various places around the world — hence the restaurant name. It took a few minutes to decide what we wanted, but our server was helpful and available as we needed him.
We started out with some wine that was highlighted by a printed card on the front of their menus and fresh lumpia. Jodi is the lumpia connoisseur and enjoyed it very much. I took a bite (I’m admittedly not good with new/​unfamiliar foods) and it wasn’t bad at all! Next I ordered the Bulgogi as my main dish, and it came out very quickly. The dish itself wasn’t the prettiest, but if there was a «beauty» competition, my Bulgogi would have certainly won against Jodi’s Beef Basil — it look like a poop pile. Luckily, she said it tasted far better than it was presented! My bulgogi was tasty as well. I liked the fact that our server asked how hot we wanted our dishes and they’re able to accommodate each person’s palate. Mine had the perfect about of bite for me!
We enjoyed our main dishes, but as I said, we were in a hurry and were interested in desserts. So we got take-​home boxes and ordered. I got the Baklava and Jodi got the Blintz (some creamy cheese filled crêpe thing. I wouldnt touch it cuz I don’t do cream cheese. Judge away!) My Baklava was very tasty, but also smaller than I would’ve liked. Just 2 tiny squares (as pictured). I’m such a glutton for sweet things.
Two small things that annoyed me during our visit here: (1) there was no price on the wine special that we ordered, but it was Mascato, how expensive can that be? Well, apparently there it’s like $ 9 a glass. A bit much for a not-​so-​fancy wine. (2) after the main course, I mentioned to our server that we were in a hurry due to the upcoming show time. I say ‘mentioned’ because he was doing a great job thus far, I wasn’t trying to push him. But after that, it seemed that he started to slow down. Like 10mins for boxes and dessert, 15 minutes to take care of our checks. Hopefully it was just bad timing or something.
If I’m in the area I wouldn’t be against trying this place again. Hopefully then I’ll be less ambivalent and more likely to leave a higher rating/​better review.

… four years later… update time.
Brandi K. and I were headed to a near by theater and A Taste of the World was located just around the corner. As you will read, I was here in 2009 for a friends birthday dinner so I was happy to see it was still open and thriving!
There weren’t very many people dining when we arrived but after we had been seated the tables started to quickly fill up.
We ordered a glass of wine and the fresh lumpia that I remember so fondly. I am happy to report that the lumpia is still as wonderful as ever.
I passed on the bulgoli this time around and opted for the Beef Basil — level 4 in spiciness. I was pretty taken back when they brought the food out. My plate was literally a pile of rice and a brownish grey beef. No veggies, no attempt at prettiness, it honestly looked a bit like a plate of dog food. It tasted good, the flavors and the spice were there, but the plating was absolutely horrid.
Our server was lacking on his attentiveness but in all fairness he was the only person working on the floor. Obviously another person would have been most helpful in that area. I still feel like this place is a 2.5 to 3 star experience. It has serious potential since some of the food is so good… and the «worldly menu» is a great selling point too… but seriously… work on the plating skills!

Did not even get to eat here, it is not wheelchair accessible. I walked in and asked how we could get a handicap scooter in and the employees just looked at me like I must have missed the sign outside that said they don’t serve handicap people. Perhaps TOTW meets the ADA exception, I know they have been there a long time. Just in case, here’s a summary of the law:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires restaurants to be handicapped accessible.
For ADA purposes, a restaurant is a place of public accommodation subject to the act’s accessibility standards. This means that any restaurant opened for first occupancy after January 26, 1993 must be readily accessible to people with disabilities, unless it is structurally impracticable to meet the requirements. The standard applies to everything from parking spaces to entrances, dining areas, and restrooms.
Restaurants that opened for first occupancy before the 1993 cutoff date do not have to be fully accessible. But they must remove architectural and communication barriers if readily achievable and, if not readily achievable, provide an alternative method of making goods and services available to people with disabilities. Also, if any major renovations take place after January 26, 1992, the renovated area of the facility must be made readily accessible to people with disabilities, to the maximum extent feasible.
I have no doubt that the food must be good, I wanted to take my wife to TOTW to try it out, but in 2013 it’s about time to get with the program and find a way to accommodate physically disadvantaged customers. It’s simply good business. Really. It is.
Not Handicap Friendly
Not Handicap Accessible
Not Wheelchair Friendly
Not Wheelchair Accessible